Whole30 GAME DAY
Who’s ready for some FOOTBALL! Since the playoff games are always in January and February, and people are motivated to eat healthy in during these months I felt like it would be helpful to give you some Whole30 ideas so that you don’t feel like you’re sacrificing on GAME DAY! GAME DAY can happen without queso dip!
Let’s start with these cuties! I have an obsession with sliders, any kind of slider will do! I used lean grass-fed ground beef, added seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, and S&P into the ground beef before forming the patties; you could add whatever seasonings you’d like. Bring your patties to room temperature before cooking. Add a bit of Olive Oil to a cast iron or non-stick skillet and cook them up! Since they’re small they won’t take any time to cook, maybe a few minutes on each side. I like to heat my cast iron to high to get good color on both sides and then turn it down to finish the cooking process.
Here are a few toppings I like to add. Whole30 complaint bacon, caramelized sweet onion, and jalapenos. I saute the sweet onions in olive oil in a non-stick pan and once they’re cooked and beautiful I remove them from the pan and cook the jalapenos in the same pan. Get creative!
Remember, a limited serving of potatoes is Whole30 compliant. These little “sliders” are great served with sweet potato fries, my recipe is linked here!
Here is the brand of bacon I use, I’ve been able to find this brand at United, Whole Foods and Natural Grocers.
Next up, Jalapeno “poppers”, I love me some spicy food! These are a spin from the traditional jalapeno popper that’s stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon. These are simply jalapenos wrapped in Whole 30 compliant bacon. You could also stuff them with brisket or pulled pork. Cheese alternative (Nut-based) are not Whole30 compliant so if you’re keeping your Whole30 complaint and clean stay away from those products, they are more of a food freedom treat or a product you can use if you have a dairy intolerance. These are easy to make, I just boil my peppers whole for about 10-15 minutes, drain, slice in half and de-seed (wear disposable gloves when doing this, trust me), pat dry and then wrap with a half piece of bacon. If you do end up stuffing these with something you will probably need to wrap with a full piece of bacon. Lay out on a rimmed non-stick baking sheet or a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick foil and bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes, I like my bacon crispy so you can tweak your cooking time based on how you’re wanting your bacon!
Now, let’s talk the KING of all GAME DAY foods! WINGS!!! There are so many ways you can spin your wings!
I buy the Wingettes and Drumettes and usually do 2 packages at a time. Remove the wings from the package, I prefer to rinse my chicken before cooking but some people say not to do that, I will let you make that call. Once washed I lay them out on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with a couple of layers of paper towels skin side up, I think take a separate paper towel and dry the skin side REALLY GOOD (this will help them cook up really crispy), I then let them sit in the fridge uncovered for a few hours (this will also help them cook up really crispy). Once you’re ready to cook them I like to bring them to almost room temperature before cooking. After sprinkling them with a little bit Kosher Salt (don’t over salt because your dry rub or sauce will add a salty flavor to them too), I lay them out skin side up on a baking sheet lined with foil for easy clean up and a wire rack on top, the wire rack will help them cook all the way around and again, cook up really crispy. Are you starting to following the theme here? CRISPY GOALS! Bake in a 400 degrees preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.
Once that cooking process is done remove them from the oven, transfer them to a bowl and toss them in your dry rub (if you use a dry rub add your seasonings of choice to 2 tbsp of melted ghee) or sauce of choice. I LOVE my Santa Fe Wings recipe, it is linked here. Or there are several Whole30 compliant buffalo/spicy sauces by Tessemaes, The New Primal and of course Franks Hot Sauce. While you’re tossing your wings set your broiler on your oven to high. Once tossed in your dry rub of choice or buffalo sauce put the wings back on the wire rack but this time skin side down, then pop in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes until they get good and crispy on the bottom, turn your wings back to skin side up and back into the broiler for another few minutes! Serve with a Whole30 compliant ranch, Tessemaes is again another great product, or make your own by using compliant mayo (I prefer homemade, mine is linked here), add in dried dill and finely diced garlic, or you can spice it up and add in some diced jalapenos. DELISH! You can also serve with carrot and celery sticks to get the TRUE wings experience!
Whipping up a batch of little smokies/little hot dogs (make sure they are compliant like this TWR brand) with Tessemaes BBQ sauce is another idea. You can heat the little smokies/hot dogs up in a skillet with olive oil and once heated through add the BBQ sauce or put it all in a slow cooker and heat them that way!
I’m obsessed with shishito peppers! They are typically mild, only 1 in every 10-15 are hot but when they’re hot, THEY’RE HOT! I just wash them, pat dry, heat a non-stick skillet to almost high, once the skillet starts to heat up add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan, once that heats up for 30 seconds or so, add your peppers tossing them almost consistently. Once they start to blister, sprinkle them with kosher salt. Once they all have blistered and have great color turn off the heat and let them sit for a couple of minutes then serve! No fork needed!
If you’re looking for a little extra flavor I like to cut the salt in half and then sprinkle on chili and lime seasoning; Trader Joe’s has a great product, it’s linked here!
Another quick idea is to bake cauliflower and broccoli drizzled in olive oil on 425 for 15-20 minutes (until a little crispy) and then toss with a complaint buffalo sauce (several are linked in the wings part of this post; above).
EASY as PIE! YUM PIE sounds good about right now!
Enjoy your GAME DAY, Whole30 Style!
Love, Olive and Honey
